Vaccine Against CMV Shows Promise in Clinical Trial

A new vaccine has the potential to be the first to prevent maternal and congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, according to a University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) study published in the March 19 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Each year in the US, nearly 30,000 babies are born with congenital CMV, the most common virus transmitted by a pregnant woman to her unborn child, and nearly 8,000 of these children suffer permanent hearing, cognitive or motor impairments.